Nutcracker



mmE EO J. TURMES NUTCRACKER Filed March 13, 1924 Dec. 30, 1924.

Patented Der. 3f), rlSZ/l,

UNITED STATES PATENT orricE.

JOHN TRMS, OF BRECKENRIDGE, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TG NORMAN T, HARPER, O'F BRECKENRIDGE, TEXAS,

NUTCRACKER.

Application led March 13, 1924. Serial No. 698,993.

To LU 'Lo/tom. it mary cwncerm# Be it known that I, JOHN TURMES, a citizen of Luxemburg, residing at Breckenridge, in the county of Stephens and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Nutcrackers,y of which the following` is a specification.

This invention relates to nut crackers and seeks primarily to provide a nut cracker which may be readily operated vto crack the shells of nuts and which will be composed of few parts so that it is not apt to get out of order. rlhe invention also has for an object the provision of a nut cracker which may be quickly adjusted to the size of the nuts to be cracked and which will be so constructed that the cracked nuts willbe directed onto ay plate or other receptacle placed below the cracking members. Other objects of the invention will appear in the course of the following description, and the invention resides in certain 4novel features which will be particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

rlhe invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure l is a side elevation, partly in section, of a nut cracker embodying my imp rovements;

F 2 is a vertical transverse section on the lino 2 2 of Fig. l, and

Fig. 3 is a det-ail transverse section on the line 3 3 of Fig. l.

The main body of my improved nut cracker may be a single casting having a body portion 1 provided on its under side with a jaw 2 adapted to rest upon table or other fixed support, indicated at 3, at the edge of said support, and from the said fixed jaw at the outer end thereof depends a hanger or connecting member 4, from the lower end ot which a jaw 5 extends inwardly under the table. rlhe end of the jaw member 5 is provided with an internally threaded eye 6 through which is engaged a Ciampino' screw 7 having a swiveled head S at its upper end which is adapted to bear against the under side of the table so that, when the screw is turned home, the main body of the device will be securely clamped thereon, as will be understood upon reference to Fig. 1.

The body l extends inwardly beyond the ixed jaw in spaced relation to the table,

and upon its upper side at its outer end is a post 9 upon which is pivoted an eccentric 10. vrihe upper extremity of the post 9 is beveled at its outer side, as indicated at 11.` and a lever or handle member l2 extends radially from the eccentric to facilitate the manipulation of the same. The lever or handle member will preferably be forn'ied integral with the eccentric and is of a greater vthickness than the eccentric so that its terminall portion will project from the face of the eccentric, as shown at 12Min position to abut the upper extremity of the post 9 in one position, as shown in full lines in Fig. 1, and abut the side of the post or the protruding` portion 'le of the body at the base of the post in another position, as shown bv the dotted lines in Fig. l. Spaced inwardly from the post 9, a post 15 rises from the main body 1 of the device, and this post has an opening 16 therethrough near its upper end, a boss 17 being provided on the outer side of the post in axial alinement with the said opening to receive and support one end of a coiled spring 18. A plunger rod 19 is slidably mounted in the opening 16 and the boss 17 and extends axially through the spring` 18 to a point adjacent the eccentric 10 where it is equipped with an enlarged head 20 bearingagainst the edge of the eccentric and'held to the eccentric by the outerend of the spring. The inner end of .the'plunger rod 19 carries ay plunger head 21 -which has its limer or tree end cupped or recessed, as indicated at 22, so that it will formV a positive seat for the nuts to be cracked. It willbeA readily understood that, if the levertA or handle 'l2 be 4swungfrom the position shown in full lines in Fig. l to the position shownv by dotted lines, the eccentric will be caused to turn about its pivot and `willA force the plunger rod 19 inwardly 1 against the `tension ot the spring 18 ard the crackedfshell and the meat will gravitate through the recessed portion 25 onto a plate or other receptacle below the same.

Extending inwardly over the table beyond the nut supporting portion 2st is a prolongation or stem 27 of the body which is provided on its under side with a longitudinal rib 28 whereby this prolongation is given a T-shaped cross sec-tion, as shown clearly iii Fig. 2, and upon the upper side of the head of the T are a series of teeth 29 having their vertical faces presented toward the plunger whereby they form stops for the anvil or thrust-receiving jaw. The anvil or thrust receiving jawV comprises a body 30 having a concave face 3l disposed in laxial alinement with the plunger and presented to the head 2l of the plunger.

0n the lower end or side of the body 30 are a series of' teeth 32 which correspond withv the teeth 29 but are arranged reversely thereto, as shown clearly in Fig. l, whereby, when the body 30 has b-een placed in position, the thrust thereon .during the operation'of cracking a nut will be effectually resisted and the said member will serve as an anvil to receivethe power exerted through4 the eccentric and the plunger. The under side ofthe anvil is cut away, as indicated at- 33, so that it may be readily tilted to clear the teeth when being adjusted and also that it may, if necessary, fit over the side of the nut supporting portion 2l of the body. At the outer or working end of the anvil, upon the sides of the same, are formed the dep'ei'idingl retainers 34: having their lower extremities turned toward each other, as indicated at 35,.to1engage under the head of the prolongation 27 and lie at the sides of the rib 28.V The lifting of the anvil during. the cracking operation is thus prevented while at the same time there vis sufficient clearance to permit the anvilto be rocked so that the teeth may be dis engaged andthe anvil 'shifted to another position'when a larger or smaller nut is t0 be accommodated, it being understood that, before the device is used, the anvil member Vis to b-e adjusted to the average size of the nuts which are to be cracked.

The device having been properly secured in place upon a xed support and the anvil member having been properly adjusted, the nuts are held singly by the lingers between the anvil and the plunger head, after which the eccentric is rotatedl so as to force the plunger inwardly against' the tension of the spring 18, as has been above described, so that sufficient pressure will be exerted upon the shell of the nutte crackV the same will then hold the nut in' place.

quickly and thoroughly. If the nut be Vreonto a` plate or other receptacle. 'It will be readily understood that the nutniLay rest upon'the upper edge of the portion. 24C and, after it has been initially engaged by the plunger head 21, the user ofthe Y.device may withdraw his fingers from the nut as the pressure exerted through the plunger ately upon the shell cracking, it will gravitate through the chute 25 and the plunger may be permitted to withdraw so that another nut may be cracked. It will thus 'be' seen that, while the device is very simple in its construction and may be produc-ed at a very low cost, itis efficient in operation and a large number of nuts maybe very quickly and completelyopened without any liability ofthe users fingers beingpinched. The engagement Vof Vthe lever or handle member l2 with the surfaces ll and 14. positively limits the movement of the lever so that jamming of any of the parts lor the placing of excessive strain upon the spring will be avoided and the handle will always come torest in a position whereV it may be conveniently grasped by the user.` Y YHaving thus describedthe invention, l claim:

,A nut 'cracker comprising a bodyl meinber adapted to be secured toa fixed' support,

a post rising from said body 'member at the outer end thereof, an eccentric: pivoted upon said post, a handle member extending from theredge off the said eccentric and having its terminal portion offset laterally from the face of the eccentric to form a ,stop adapted to engage th-e upper end of the post or the endl of the body at the base of the post, a second post rising from the body and lspaced inwardly from. the first-men tioned post, a plunger slidably mounted in the upper end of the second-mentioned post, l

a. head on the inner end of said plunger at oneosideUof.' the second-inentioiiedpost. a head at the outer end of said plunger bearing` sliilablyv against .the edge of the eccentric. a coiled spring encircling the plunger vand bearing at its ends respectively against the secondmentioned post and/the head at the outer end of the plunger, and an. anvil u'iounted4 upon the body in spaced relation Y -to and alinedv with the plunger. Y

In'testlmony whereof I affix my signature.

JOHN TURMES.

Immedi- Y llt) 

